Looking back over the first seven months of 2017 and studying STORES’ annual Hot 100 list of the fastest-growing retailers, Editor Susan Reda is inclined to view recent retail headlines as a sign that the gods of disruption are having their due — and she’s more excited by that prospect than defensive about it.

Tax audits on retailers are extremely common, and the consequences of being found liable of noncompliance are not trivial — tax management system provider Avalara says the average audit assessment costs $144,000. Northern Tool + Equipment converted to an Avalara system for certification capture in 2012, saving several hundred thousand dollars a year.

Retailers mostly focus on front-end strategies and ignore the importance of integrated order fulfillment and secure back-end processes. Download the handbook from EKN Research and Radial for insights that will empower you to overcome your order-fulfillment challenges for seamless omnichannel execution.

By the end of this year, 70 percent of KFC’s restaurants will have new branded touches. The Big Chicken in Marietta, Ga., received a $2.2 million renovation, including unique drinks, an expanded dining room and its own AM radio station.

Furniture retailer Havertys teamed up with Oscar nominee Ted Melfi, director/screenwriter of “Hidden Figures,” to create TV commercials depicting “the unvarnished truth of real life,” including a family dealing with raccoons in their attic and a digital assistant that gives away a little too much information.

In a world of omnichannel retail, even small iterations of multiple user experience touchpoints can create a big impact. On this week’s episode of Retail Gets Real, hear how Rob Colenso, senior product manager and UI/UX team lead for Total Wine & More, increased the company’s ecommerce revenue by 55 percent from last year.

On the heels of Walmart announcing a partnership with Google that will allow shoppers to order products through Google Assistant, Walmart head of ecommerce Marc Lore will discuss the company’s approach to innovation at Shop.org, to be held on September 25-27 in Los Angeles. Lore will join TechStyle’s Adam Goldenberg for a session on thinking and acting like a startup, no matter a company’s size.

You have to merchandise Miami differently than Minneapolis, but how? With Esri’s location intelligence solutions, you can join transaction history with demographics and psychographics to understand what customers want, where they want it.

Even though more parents started back-to-school shopping early this year, many families still have a lot of shopping left to do as they prepare their children for the start of school. According to NRF’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights, the average family with children in grades K-12 had completed only 45 percent of their shopping as of early August.

Retail Deals

Spices USA, Inc., is adopting ReposiTrak’s Compliance Management System to manage records from its upstream suppliers.

Signet Jewelers Limited, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry, has agreed to acquire R2Net for $328 million in an all cash transaction. R2Net is the owner of JamesAllen.com, a fast-growing online jewelry retailer, as well as Segoma Imaging Technologies, with technology to enable delivery of a next-generation digital shopping experience for jewelry.

G-III Apparel Group, Ltd., a leading manufacturer and distributor of apparel and accessories under licensed brands, owned brands and private label brands, is partnering with Fred Gehring’s investment fund, Amlon Capital BV, to produce and market women’s and men’s apparel and accessories pursuant to a long term license for DKNY and Donna Karan in the People’s Republic of China.

Athletic retailer The Finish Line, Inc. has teamed up with certified platinum hip-hop group Migos for a unique opportunity where the artists will act as creative directors for the retailer. The partnership includes the BET award-winning trio leading several Finish Line marketing initiatives featuring themselves, as well as other social influencers and the latest and greatest products in the marketplace.

Macy’s and Lucky Brand announced the launch of Lucky Brand Home, a new bedding collection created for Macy’s.

Pacific Sunwear of California, LLC, a specialty retailer offering a cross-section of emerging brands and trending fashion through the lens of Los Angeles, has launched a new mobile app experience through a partnership with PredictSpring, a mobile commerce leader.

Alipay, one of the world’s leading digital payment platforms, and GNC Holdings Inc., a global specialty retailer of health, wellness and performance products, have partnered to bring GNC’s health and nutrition related products to millions of Chinese consumers. As of July, 2017, all of Alipay’s more than 520 million registered users can purchase GNC’s vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs, sports nutrition, diet and energy products using Alipay to pay on GNC.com.

Webinar 9/21 (1pm EDT/10AM PDT): Shaping UP Your Payments for Growth - Join ACI & Ovum as they discuss the findings from two recent research studies that examine the priorities for merchant payments. Key takeaways - Which merchants are planning to increase their payments investment over 18-24 months? Where are they investing - which new technologies are expected to offer the best returns? We hope to see you there!